Angels Must Rise
by triedunture
Summary: Sephiroth begins his new life as an Angel of the Realm. But the Darkness is not quiet, and from the Light, Angels must rise. Yaoi pairings: SoraRiku, past SephCloud, CloudLeon, SephAxel?
1. In that high tower

Sephiroth stared into the beady eyes glowing before him. He could see no heart behind those eyes, nothing that could feel or touch. His jaw clenched at the thought; the thing deserved nothing but a swift end.

The black Heartless bared its fangs and bounded to the right. Sephiroth dodged left and brought his long Masamune blade up to slice into the shadowy creature's stomach. It vanished into thin air with a shriek.

"Too easy," the silver-haired man grunted, his glowing, all-green eyes glinting in the dark room. His long wing stretched out from his left shoulder, a snow-white shape in the oppressive darkness.

"I'll make it more challenging for you then," a voice echoed from some hidden corner.

Sephiroth was suddenly attacked from behind by a dozen sword-wielding Dark Soldiers. He turned just in time to dispatch the nearest one before it got too close. A whirl of slashes brought down most of them, but Sephiroth was aware of the remaining enemies circling him, trying to box him in. He spun again.

He brought Masamune up with great force to drive the point of his weapon into the chest of the Dark Soldier behind him. But he had misjudged the distance in the dim light, and the creature ducked, causing Sephiroth's sword to become embedded far into the black wall.

The fiend smirked, its yellow eyes glowing in triumph.

Sephiroth growled and released the hilt of his weapon, diving towards the soldier's throat with his hands. Dead bones snapped under his fingers, and he grabbed the Heartless's weapon before it even fell to the ground. He used it to block the attacks of the two remaining enemies, the sparks from their blades lighting the room briefly.

With a sharp cry, Sephiroth defeated one with a slice across the belly. He took that soldier's weapon as well, testing the weight of the swords, one in each hand. The final enemy looked ready to retreat, but Sephiroth lunged forward and drew both blades across the exposed throat. The wound didn't have time to show any gore before the creature vanished into the ether.

Sephiroth threw the lesser swords onto the ground and reached for the Masamune, freeing it from its place in the wall with a jerk of his wrist.

The room was suddenly flooded with light, revealing two figures by the far wall. The old man in a blue hat and tunic clapped his hands.

"Well done," Merlin said. "Though it seems you forgot where the wall was. Maybe you need more blind practice. What do you think, Sir Goofy?"

The strange-looking dog at the wizard's side shrugged. "Looked like he was doin' good to me. A little too good, ya huck."

"Maybe I didn't forget the wall, and I was just bored," Sephiroth retorted, crossing the training room to reach his mentors.

It had been two weeks since Sephiroth had left Radiant Garden to reside at the King's castle. His training had begun immediately; there was much to learn. Merlin and another, more dour magician named Yen Sid had been assigned by King Mickey to oversee Sephiroth's training in the battle and magic arts. The King's two stalwart companions, Donald and Goofy, were also on hand to help.

The training room was the perfect place to begin his instruction. Deep in the lower levels of the castle, the magically charged room could be altered by a skilled mage to create any environment or battle they wished. And although the battles looked and felt real, there was no actual danger.

When Sephiroth had told Sora about it, the boy had chuckled something that sounded like, "Danger room."

"Bored, eh?" Merlin raised a bushy eyebrow. "Would you rather concentrate on your spell casting?"

Sephiroth sighed. "No, sir." He was definitely more at ease with physical battles than magical ones. Ever since the fight for his heart outside the walls of Radiant Garden, where he'd destroyed the entire Dark Army with a single spell, Sephiroth had been wary of using his magic. It was too dangerous, he thought, too reckless.

"Perhaps you'd like to continue studying the ancient texts in the library?" the wizard continued to needle. He knew how Sephiroth hated reading through those difficult, often crumbling, pages.

The silver-haired man grimaced.

"I got an idea," Goofy spoke up. "I promise ya it won't be boring. Here, take this." He reached into his pocket and took out a small object, which he dropped into Sephiroth's hand.

He examined it. "An egg?" The white shell felt smooth in his bare hand; since his angelic transformation, Sephiroth had no need for gloves, and was discovering more tactile sensations every day.

Goofy nodded, that stupid grin stretching his face, pointing to the egg. "Let's call it Sora."

"Fine." Sephiroth held the egg between his thumb and forefinger. "So?"

"So…" Goofy poked Merlin in the ribs. "Here comes some Heartless."

Sephiroth spun around to see the gigantic shapes of four Large Bodies looming above him. Instinctively, he jumped straight into the air, using his single white wing to aid his leap, and struck the enemies in the back where they were weakest. Within moments, the Heartless were gone.

He brushed some shoulder-length strands of silver hair from his eyes, sighing heavily. "That was child's play. Is this sort of thing supposed to keep me occupied?"

"I dunno." Goofy pointed to the ground by his feet. "Why don't ya ask Sora?"

"Hmm?" Sephiroth glanced at the floor where the fragile egg was smashed to pieces, the yellow yolk dribbling out of its shell. He must've dropped it in his haste. "I don't understand," he said, furrowing his brow.

The King's warrior scratched the back on his neck with a gloved hand. "It was suppose' to be a lesson, Seph," he mumbled.

"I think what Goofy was trying to show you, in his own way," Merlin said in a gentle voice, "is that you may be a great fighter, but you still need to learn how to defend." The mage pointed with a crooked finger to the cracked egg. "If you have someone depending on you in battle, like Sora for instance, your first concern should be for his safety, not your enemies' defeat."

"I see." Sephiroth dropped his gaze to the poor shattered egg, his eyes darkening with guilt. If that had been the real Sora, he would have let the boy down completely. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Nothin' to be sorry about," Goofy said with a cheerful smile. "We just gotta try harder, right?"

Merlin stroked his long white beard, muttering to himself, "Perhaps I can enable the training glamours to simulate allies. That way, you could practice as if you were part of a team."

Sephiroth nodded, his eyes still downcast. "Yes, please, let's continue." He gripped the hilt of his sword in a white-knuckled grip. "I still have much to learn."

Merlin flicked his eyes to Sephiroth's tense hands. "Why don't you take a break instead, my boy? I believe we've badgered you enough for one day."

The one-winged angel looked up, his electric green eyes wide with surprise. "But I haven't…"

"Learned to be a Guardian instantly?" Merlin laughed. "This isn't something to be rushed. Get some rest for now." He opened a door with a wave of his hand and a whisper of magic. "The Kingdom wasn't built in a day, you know," he said, hobbling out of the training room.

Goofy followed, giving Sephiroth a sympathetic shrug.

The silver-haired man gave the blank room one last glance before leaving to return to his quarters. His room was high in the western turret, and as Sephiroth climbed the twisting staircases that wound their way through the castle's floors, he was greeted by an array of creatures who lived and worked for the Royal Court. There were the twin chipmunks who acted as the king's mechanics; they squeaked happily at him before scurrying off down to the hangar. The Queen bustled past in her elaborate gown, and Sephiroth bowed to the small mouse. She gave a smile and a wave before hurrying on. Then, outside the banquet hall, Sephiroth ran into Sir Goofy's son, Max.

"Hey there, Seph," the young dog said without a trace of his father's strange accent. "They're almost done serving dinner. Aren't you hungry after getting put through the paces?"

He gave the friendly child a small smile and sniffed the air. "What's on the menu today?" he asked.

"Squash soup, fresh greens, and that chewy bread with the little spicy things on top." Max licked his lips and patted his belly. "I already pigged out."

Sephiroth smiled politely, but in truth, he couldn't stand the vegetarian diet the castle provided. The reason behind the meatless kitchen was obvious: many of the King's subjects were animals. Imagine, he thought, what Donald would do if he were served roast duck. The image almost made him chuckle aloud, but he shook it from his head.

"I don't feel hungry," Sephiroth answered.

"Okay, see you later," Max said, waving as he started down the long marble hallway.

The one-winged angel hurried past the banquet hall, down a corridor, through the courtyard, and finally began the step ascent up the narrow staircase that led to his room. Along the way, mindfully keeping his wing folded close in the tight space, Sephiroth daydreamed about Aerith's beef stew and fried chicken.

Oh, the things he'd do for some real food.

Sephiroth pushed open the heavy wooden door at the top of the stairs and entered his modest quarters. He'd been offered more spacious rooms when he had arrived, but he had assured King Mickey that the snug room was to his liking. An oak bed covered in a white coverlet dominated the room. There was a writing desk and chair on the opposite wall; a stack of spell books sat on the scarred desktop. A small dormer window looked out over the misty plains outside the castle walls. It was simple, and Sephiroth didn't mind it.

Beside the stack of books on the desk, a pale blue orb glowed softly. Sephiroth picked up the shimmering ball and concentrated. The crystal was the mechanism through which Sora and Riku could communicate to Sephiroth, light-years away. The silver-haired man gazed into the small orb, and Sora's smiling face came into view.

"What's up, Seph?" his recorded voice said. "I haven't heard from you in awhile. Hope everything's going okay. Just want to let you know that Riku and I will come and visit in a few days. I already asked Mickey, and he said it would be fine. So see you soon!" The boy leaned forward and whispered, "The sooner, the better. School is really sucking." Sora grinned, then whipped his head around at something unseen behind him. "Crap, my mom just came home. Can't have her see me talking into a crystal ball." The message ended abruptly.

With a sigh, Sephiroth returned the orb to its place on the desk and unbuckled the leather straps that criss-crossed his chest. Ever since he'd pulled the Masamune free from its place in the Dark Realm, he needed to carry a sheath for the massive blade. A magnet harness, not unlike the one Cloud used for the Buster, did the job. He placed the weapon carefully against the wall within easy reach of the bed. He reached for a non-existent shirt hem to pull over his head, then gave a bark of laughter when he remembered he hadn't worn a shirt in weeks. It would be awkward with his single wing, and besides, he never felt the cold anymore.

"Not the cold in air, at any rate," he mumbled aloud as he divested himself of his battle leathers and boots. He'd been given the defensive garments when he'd arrived, and they only seemed to come in black. Sephiroth smirked; he could finally wear dark clothes without the girls bemoaning his choice. But then again, he wouldn't really mind hearing their voices, even if it was to jeer at him…

He folded the leather trousers and placed them at the foot of his bed.

Sephiroth considered going to the window to look out over the plains as the sun set, but it was the same every day: Never too bright, never too cloudy, never rainy, never humid. Everything about the castle was clean and pleasant, but still…

Sometimes, being the only humanoid creature in the entire world made Sephiroth feel isolated. Well, there were the wizards, but they were hardly his peers. It seemed Yen Sid and Merlin usually kept him in the dark about the strange, magical world they inhabited, perhaps for his own good.

Sephiroth slipped between the crisp bed sheets, his mind filled with memories of his friends back in Radiant Garden. The citizens who populated the castle were very courteous towards him, but Sephiroth felt as if something was missing. Something important.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on his memories of a familiar face.

A soft whisper floated into his ear. "Are you lonely, Seph?"

Sephiroth furrowed his brow. He imagined he could feel Zack's long, silken hair trailing along his face, as if the man was really there. But no, this was just a memory, or perhaps a ghost.

"I miss them, Zack," he said softly, turning towards that warmth. He felt sinewy arms wrap around his shoulders, and he buried his face into the crook of a soft-skinned neck. "I'm all alone here."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Zack snorted indignantly. "What am I, chopped liver?"

"Are you even real?" Sephiroth murmured, combing his fingers through that thick mane of hair. He couldn't ever remember a time he'd touched Zack like this in life, but now, it seemed childish to worry over something like a simple thing that he needed so much. "Is this all in my head?"

Strong, gloved hands tightened their hold on his back, holding him closer. Sephiroth curled into Zack's embrace, wishing his old friend could be here to help him with all these new abilities, all this new responsibility.

"I am real," Zack hissed. "I swear I am. Sweet Shiva, can't you tell?"

Sephiroth ventured to open his eyes, taking in the sight of Zack's spirit sprawled out on the bed as if he belonged there. His military uniform was in perfect condition, his wild black hair falling into his face. It couldn't be anyone else.

"I'm sorry," the silver-haired man whispered. "Of course you're real. I have no reason to doubt you. You've always been true to me, Zachary."

Zack gave him a faded, lop-sided grin. "Nah, not always. That one time, I promised I'd handle it if the Darkness ever got a hold of you." He ducked his head, his dark eyes averted. "I just wasn't strong enough to do it. What happened to you was all my fault."

"Ridiculous," Sephiroth retorted. "You were so much stronger than I—" He reached out to lift Zack's chin, but his hands passed through the man's image. "You're fading," Sephiroth gasped.

"Yeah, sorry. It's getting harder…to maintain a form," Zack struggled to say. "I'm trying my best, but…"

"Don't apologize for anything," Sephiroth soothed. "It's a miracle you can come even sometimes." He gazed at the flickering form of Zack's tightly drawn face. "Does it pain you to appear like this?"

"Nah, it's cool," he answered with a smile.

Sephiroth knew it was a lie, but he couldn't bring himself to admonish his friend. He tried to reach out and touch Zack's arm, but the man was no longer corporeal, and his fingertips grasped only air.

"Listen, I have something important to tell you," the dark-haired man said, coming in and out of view. "I might not be able to come back here for awhile, so pay attention." Zack frowned seriously. "You're not alone." His form flickered out of focus before coming back again. "Not for long…" Out, then in. Sephiroth leaned forward to catch every strained word. "…another, you hear…?" Zack shouted as he came back.

Sephiroth's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Another what?"

"In snow…" Zack's voice faded completely along with his image, and Sephiroth fisted his hands in the sheets.

"Zachary, are you there?" he called. Sephiroth's voice echoed against the stone walls of his room. "Zack?" Only silence. He sighed, dragging a hand through his silver hair. "Thank you," he whispered, hoping his friend could still hear him. "Rest now. I'll figure it out. Don't worry."

He rubbed his eyes and laid his head down on his pillow. "In snow…" he murmured to himself in the growing darkness. It never rained at the castle, let alone snowed. What could Zack have meant?

"Losing my mind," Sephiroth whispered, shutting his eyes tight and forcing sleep to come.

Moonlight streamed in through the small window, painting Sephiroth's sleeping face. A single snow flake suddenly flew against the pane of glass before melting just as quickly.

* * *

_Author's Note: Hi! I've started putting my notes at the end of chapters because it's less annoying, I think. I mean, hopefully you guys wanna get right to the story. So you probably just skip my blah blah blahing anyway. OK. So. Here it is, the sequel to Like Ghosts in Snow. This story's going to be different because now Seph is at the Disney Castle, and it's a strange new world, and it's a little creepy/cheery. I'm basing the setting on the real Disney, which I both love and fear, so I hope other Disney-philes will have a good chuckle at some of the things that happen there. This story's also going to be a little more happy. Well, at least for Seph. Poor Seph! I really screwed him in the last story...no nookie or nothing. So a lot of crazy surprises are in store for you guys. I hope you like these new installments, and please please please tell me what you think! Reviews are the oil that makes my engine run._


	2. False Winter

Sephiroth woke up before the sun rose. It had become his routine to get out of bed in the early hours of the morning, long before the other residents of the castle awoke. He would stroll through the quiet, cool corridors, down the endless marble staircases, listening to his lone footsteps on the hard floor. It was a peaceful reprieve before the bustle of the royal staff began, before the bread was baking in the ovens, before the chatter of hundreds of small animals crowded into these halls.

Sephiroth made his way to the courtyard, where he usually meditated in the mornings. The dewy grass always felt refreshing under his bare feet, and the shapes of the whimsical topiaries loomed like dark guardians above his head. It was a good place to be alone, at this grey time of day.

The silver-haired man rubbed at his tired eyes as he walked across the wet grass. One soft footprint after another, letting the grass spring back after he left it behind. One step, two, three, then—

Sephiroth looked down. The ground had made a crunching sound, instead of no sound at all. White powder. Crystals. Cold. He wiggled his toes.

Snow.

He jerked his gaze up, completely alert now, the dreamy state of early morning leaving his brain. There was snow everywhere, blanketing the neatly-trimmed bushes in thick whiteness. Every animal shape was stark now, white on white, stretching over the small courtyard.

Sephiroth drew his sword. The metal made a sharp ringing sound as it left the sheath, a long echo in the winter stillness.

A false winter. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. Where had it come from? He glanced at the sky, but it offered no clue; no clouds, nothing to obscure the twinkling stars, the far-off worlds, fading in the grey morning light.

He took a step forward, his sword feeling easy and eager in his left hand. A faint noise made him halt. Sephiroth tuned his ears to the sound. A shuffle of feet? A groan. A person, here, where no one else should be.

His hand tightened on the hilt of the Masamune. Then his grip slackened and his eyes became wide.

A shape rose from behind a topiary, a human form. It was a silhouette in the darkness, but Sephiroth could see the arms, the shoulders, the neck and head. A head of wild, spiky hair.

His breath caught in his throat.

"Zack?" he called, a weak noise, no more than a whisper in the silent square.

The figure whipped its head around, still shrouded in shadow. A single wing spread out wide from behind its right shoulder. Sephiroth could see a stray feather float out of sight behind the plants.

"Zack!" he cried again, dropping his weapon in the snow.

The shadow ran.

"No! Wait!" Sephiroth left his sword where it fell and gave chase.

The human shape ducked and weaved, running wildly through the maze of curving green sculptures, as if searching blindly for an exit. Its large white wing, the twin of Sephiroth's own, snagged on a low branch. Several feathers were ripped away and left behind in the snow, decorating the whiteness with spots of blood. Still, the newcomer would not stop running.

"Stop this!" Sephiroth darted around a leafy replica, trapping his quarry in a corner of the courtyard.

The shade dropped into a defensive crouch; Sephiroth could see it was a man for certain now. He wore no clothes, and the only protection he had from the cold air was his wing, which arched over his head protectively. They stood frozen for a moment, breathing heavily.

Sephiroth tried again, stepping towards the figure. "Zack, is that you?"

A faint glow shimmered from the dark shape, something green, something…

Sephiroth took another step, holding out his empty hands palms up.

"Is it…?"

The shadow looked up suddenly, his eyes blazing bright green, all green, no whites or pupils. Power crackled around him; Sephiroth could smell it. Sharp white teeth were bared in a snarl.

"Stay back," a scratchy voice answered, deep and unfamiliar.

Sephiroth's eyes widened imperceptibly.

Before the fireball erupted into the air between them, before Sephiroth was thrown back into the icy snow, there was a brief moment of light in the dim courtyard. And as Sephiroth laid there on the cold ground, feeling his burned flesh knitting itself back into one piece, he wondered at what he'd seen.

A young man, barely more than a boy. Two small marks on his thin face. Tiny black triangles, upside down, one under each glowing green eye. Like pointed tears. Tattoos for the forever crying.

Then fire.

Crunching footsteps stopped in front of his face. Sephiroth lifted his bleary gaze up at the interloper: a hazy picture of pale skin and more fire. No, not fire. Hair as red as fire.

"Who…?" But his vision went black, and Sephiroth couldn't say anything more.

* * *

_Author's Note: Sorry about the major delay with this chapter. I couldn't get the upload to work for the life of me. Anyway...I am full of glee! I hope you were all pleasantly surprised by the new addition to the story. The next part will be up soon. Mysteries will deepen, questions will be sort of addressed, so don't miss it. _


	3. Number 8 Returns

The last thing Sephiroth wanted to see when he came back to life was Yen Sid's wrinkly face filling his vision. But beggars can't be choosers, and dead men should be grateful to be alive again.

"Which way did he go?" the wizard demanded gruffly.

Sephiroth groaned and propped himself up on his elbows. His head was pounding, and his newly healed skin had that tight, itchy feeling. And his black leathers were burned in places.

He sighed. They had been brand new.

"Which way?" Yen Sid repeated, his eyes growing darker with power. He looked like he about to cast a spell in every direction out of pure frustration.

"Gosh, I'd like to know who it _was_ first, don't ya think?" Sephiroth looked over his shoulder to see the small Mouse King standing behind him, holding hilt of the oversized Masamune in his white gloved hand. "You feel okay, Seph?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Fine." Sephiroth took his weapon from Mickey and used it as a crutch to regain his feet. "I don't know where he went. And I didn't recognize his face."

Yen Sid's bushy eyebrow rose at that. "You imply you recognized something else," he said.

Sephiroth nodded. "His wing. Pure white, just like mine, but on his right side."

The king's eyes widened, and the royal Keyblade appeared in his hand. "Ya don't say?" he said, his easy reply at odds with his defensive action.

"We're wasting time here," the powerful wizard growled. "He could be anywhere in the castle now. We must find him."

"I'll do it," Sephiroth assured, sheathing his sword safely. "He was panicked, disoriented. He'll head for somewhere quiet and dark, someplace he can hide."

Yen Sid watched him carefully. "How do you know this?"

"I saw it in his face," the silver-haired man answered. That, and Sephiroth knew that this man was what Zack had been trying to warn him about. No, not warn, he thought, _prepare_. You won't be alone, Zack had said. Sephiroth longed to believe him. He readied a simple spell and shrouded himself in magical protection.

The wizard grunted in displeasure and crossed his bony arms over his chest. "Other spells could be more effective than Shell. He's a fire starter; you should use ice elementals to freeze him. Or silence him altogether."

"This will do," Sephiroth snapped. "If I appear too aggressive, he'll strike like he did before."

"Just be careful. We'll be right behind you if you need us," the King warned, placing a hand on Yen Sid's arm to stop his protest and hold him back. Sephiroth went on alone.

He paced around the courtyard, where most of the snow had already melted in the grass, turning the soil soggy. There was no sign of the intruder, no fresh footprints in the mud. Sephiroth continued on down the long western corridor. It was protected from the rising sun, still cast in grey shadows.

This is where I would have gone, Sephiroth thought, checking each room for the redheaded man. Who was he? And why did he seem so familiar?

"Zack," Sephiroth sighed as he opened the door to the empty library. His old friend's words made Sephiroth believe that this man was not an enemy. At least, not yet.

Though the fireball didn't exactly help.

Sephiroth stopped walking suddenly, freezing in the empty hallway. There was no noise, no sound of breathing, but he sensed a presence. His glowing green eyes fell on a small door that led to the cupboard under one of the staircases. It was the sort of small place that mops and brooms are stored; the sort of place someone might crawl into, naked, after falling from the sky.

Sephiroth opened the door slowly and peered inside.

A blast of fire deflected off the magic barrier surrounding him, but a few brooms weren't so lucky. Another stream of flames was easily dodged. Sephiroth sighed and looked again into the dark closet.

"Are you finished?" he asked.

Flashing eyes that mirrored his own glared back at him. The gravelly voice replied, "Come closer and we'll see."

"Don't be afraid," Sephiroth said, reaching his hand out slowly. The man in the closet remained motionless. His pale skin was covered in dirt and grime, and as Sephiroth got a better look, it seemed that the marks on his face weren't the only tattoos. There were black designs on his elbows, his chest, climbing up his ribs on his left flank.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he continued, unable to keep the sharp edge out of his voice that promised, "Yet."

His fingers were so close to the other's arm, he could feel the body heat flowing off that marred skin. Slender fingers finally closed around the redhead's forearm, and instead of struggling, he gave a short gasp. Sephiroth felt a jolt run through his system as well, like some sort of current. He looked down at the crouching man, and saw that his eyes were cleared of their sparkling green fields. Instead, normal human eyes looked back, complete with black pupils, bloodshot whites, and green glass irises.

"Your eyes," Sephiroth whispered.

"Yours have changed," the redhead hissed back, pointing at his face.

"They did?" The swordsman lifted a hand to his cheek as if to check by touch, but he knew somehow that this man spoke the truth. He would have to find a mirror to evaluate the situation, but later. "My name is Sephiroth," he ventured.

"I know," the stranger shot back.

Sephiroth frowned and retracted his hand. "How?"

"Come on," the other snorted. "Everyone's heard of the Great Sephiroth." There was a wicked gleam in his eye. "They say you can kill anything."

"That was a long time ago," the silver-haired man said quietly. "Things have changed. But…you remember?"

The other opened his mouth, and Sephiroth could see the thousand questions he was about to ask, all boiling down to one thing: What's happened to me?

And Sephiroth didn't know the answer to that.

"Be like stone," a gruff voice said over his shoulder, and Sephiroth whirled to see the dark eyes of Yen Sid ablaze with magic.

"No, don't—"

But he was too late. He turned back to the redhead to catch the look of fear on his thin, pale face before his body went rigid and still, like a statue.

"Why did you do that to him?" Sephiroth snarled at the wizard.

"Because he is a danger to himself and the citizens of this castle, and it would be prudent to immobilize him while we have the chance," Yen Sid replied with a lofty air. "The King agrees with me."

"Your Majesty?" The Angel looked down at his liege, standing a little behind the sorcerer.

Mickey nodded gravely, his eyes still drawn to the captive's frozen face. "I know who he is, Seph. He's…well, gosh, I should say he _was_ a very powerful person, working for the darkest of forces." The little mouse looked up at Sephiroth. "He was a Nobody, the Eighth of Thirteen."

Sephiroth glanced back at the stranger in the closet, his brow furrowed. He'd read about the Organization, and its ferocious members. But this one?

"He's an Angel," Sephiroth protested. "He bears a wing."

"It's an impossibility," Yen Sid railed. "A trick of the Dark Forces. A Nobody cannot become an—"

"_I_ did." Sephiroth stood taller, towering over even the imposing wizard. "Who can pretend to know the logic of the Light?"

"You weren't a Nobody!" the wizard roared. "Nobodies are made from nothing, they return to nothing, they can't _be something_."

"But the wing—"

"There's a chance he could be a real Angel, sure," the King soothed. "But ya gotta admit, we should be careful with this one."

"What will you do to him?" Sephiroth asked, impulsively reaching for a slightly-singed dustcover on a hook in the closet. He spread the cloth over the man's bare shoulders to hide his nakedness.

"Nothin' bad," Mickey promised. "We just need to ask him some questions, find out what the heck is goin' on."

"I'll take him to an observation chamber, Your Majesty," Yen Sid said, whispering a spell to levitate the frozen youth. Sephiroth bit his tongue as the fabric around the man slipped, and tied two of the corners together to keep it around his throat. Then he could only watch him float away, a stone self, with Yen Sid leading him down the hall.

"You're eyes are back to normal," the King said suddenly. "What happened?"

"Not sure," Sephiroth said distractedly. "Sire, what's that man's name?"

"The Flurry of Dancing Flames," he answered. "Though, at times," the mouse sighed, "I've heard him called Axel."

"Axel." Sephiroth rolled the word across his tongue. It didn't feel anything like "Zack" or "Cloud" or "Aerith". Sephiroth couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.

* * *

_Author's Note: Some of your reviews sound a mite worried, but please don't be. I swear there isn't any Disney character sexing in this story. All sexing will be humanoid on humanoid; call me old-fashioned. Also, I know this is slow going, but after this chapter, excitement and stuff starts to pick up, I promise, and everything will (sort of) start to make sense. Thanks for reading!_


	4. Unlocked

Sephiroth stepped into his room late in the day, when the sun had already sunk under the horizon and nothing but a strip of red light was visible from the tower's small window. He unhooked his weapon's sheath from his back and set it in its proper resting place against the wall. The swordsman sighed and looked down at his singed leather pants. He hadn't had time yet to discard them; the day had been so busy.

After Yen Sid had spirited Axel away, it seemed every occupant of the castle had poked their furry heads out of their hiding places and begged Sephiroth for details on the situation. He had spent hours assuring everyone from the Queen to the servant mice that everything was fine, no one was hurt, there had been a small misunderstanding, but the High Wizard was going to sort it out.

"But who attacked you in the courtyard?" was the inevitable question. "We all heard you scream in pain; woke up everyone in the palace. How did he get in here? What does he want?"

Sephiroth was tired. Diplomacy was not his strong suit. He could only field the curious questions as best he could, and promise that Yen Sid knew best.

Though he was beginning to doubt that, after the wizard had acted so harshly.

He had asked the King about it, when they'd had a rare moment of peace alone in the throne room. The little mouse had furrowed his brow, looking up at Sephiroth with concerned dark eyes.

"I have ta tell ya, Seph," Mickey said with a slow shake of his head, "Yen Sid's the most powerful magic user in the entire universe. His wisdom is beyond normal folks. I may be king and all, but sometimes when he speaks, it feels like I'm back to being his lowly apprentice. He can be downright scary."

"You were his apprentice?" Sephiroth said, raising his eyebrow at the image.

"Had to learn magic somewhere," the King said with a grin. "Though his methods might be a little strict, Yen Sid was always just trying to teach me a lesson for my own good. I trust him."

Sephiroth stood at the window and watched the thin red line that separated the earth from sky disappear, leaving everything covered in a deep midnight blue. He had to trust the king's decision, he thought. By tomorrow, he was certain the mystery would be cleared up, and he would finally know what Axel's presence meant.

His curiosity would just have to wait until then. Sephiroth nodded to himself and set about peeling away his burnt clothing. He retrieved a clean pair of loose cotton pants from his desk's drawer and slipped them on. It had been a long day; sleep was in order.

Although…

He cocked his head, listening for any sounds echoing through the castle. But everyone was probably in their rooms, quietly gossiping about the day's events. No one lingered in the stone halls, no boots tapped against the marble floors.

Maybe, Sephiroth thought, if no one else was around to see him and bombard him with more questions, maybe he could go down to the observation room very quickly. Just to check on the other Angel before bed.

It would be, as Aerith would say, the polite thing to do.

So Sephiroth crept down the twisting staircase on silent bare feet. He moved swiftly down the hall, keeping to the shadowy corners when possible. Down more stairs, and more and more, until he was in the deepest reaches of the castle's basements, a place he rarely visited: Yen Sid's workrooms.

"Axel?" he called softly, peering into the dark rooms. Flickering lamps were spread around the large space, offering little light beyond their small glowing range. He didn't see anybody, or hear any answer.

He ventured further into the rooms, trying to remember where the observation chamber was. Sephiroth vaguely recalled a room far in the back, ill-lit with strangely colored liquids bubbling over burners. He picked his way through the maze of rooms until he came to it.

"Are you here, Axel?" Sephiroth called again, scanning the room with his sharp eyes. There was still no answer; a growing worry flowered in Sephiroth's heart.

The silver-haired man finally spotted a human form huddled in a corner. The familiar white wing was folded closely against Axel's side, and the man seemed to be staring off into nothingness, his arms wrapped around his drawn-up knees. The cloth Sephiroth had placed over his shoulders was still there, but did little to hide his body.

Sephiroth approached him slowly. "Can't you hear me?" he asked, a little annoyed at being ignored.

Then he stopped short, his mouth falling open in shock. Axel looked pale and sickly; his eyes were murky pools of shifting grey, and a collar emitting a magical glow was fastened around his throat. Sephiroth recognized the symptoms. Axel had been blinded, silenced, and deafened. A memory from long ago tingled in the back of Sephiroth's mind. This was what was done to military prisoners: sensory deprivation.

"No. No, that's not…" Sephiroth kneeled down beside the redhead, his fingers scrambling at the collar. Axel didn't budge; there was probably a numbing spell attached to the amulet as well. "Shit," Sephiroth cursed as he examined the magical collar. There didn't seem to be any lock or catch to undo. Locked with a spell, then. Maybe it required a password.

"I'll get it off, Axel," Sephiroth whispered, even though the other man couldn't hear him. "Don't worry." He glanced around the room wildly, as if looking for a clue, when his eyes fell on the imposing figure of Yen Sid in the doorway.

"Bastard," Sephiroth snarled. His anger overtook him momentarily, and he leapt at the wizard. But of course, a field of protective magic stopped his progress, throwing him backwards. "Why are you doing this to him?" he shouted through the barrier.

"You probably think me a monster," Yen Sid replied calmly, his eyes shifting from Sephiroth to the immobilized Axel. "I assure you, I take no pleasure in this."

"But what does it accomplish?" Sephiroth cried, gesturing to Axel's mute form. "It's wrong, it's inhumane."

"I had no choice," the wizard said. "He's a dangerous creature, this Axel. In the process of questioning him, he became agitated, uncontrollable. I have the good of the entire castle to consider, Sephiroth. I couldn't let him run rampant."

"Of course he's agitated!" Sephiroth threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "He just came back to life in a strange place, in a strange time. He has no allies, no memories—"

"Not so." Yen Sid lifted a gnarled finger in protest. "His memories appear to be intact."

Sephiroth's brows furrowed as he glanced at the silent figure in the corner.

"Or are you perhaps speaking of another person?" the wizard said smugly.

"I don't understand," Sephiroth whispered. "If we're both Angels, why did I come back so differently?"

"Precisely what I was trying to figure out." Yen Sid released the Protect spell, stepping into the room. "But Axel proved difficult to…communicate with."

Sephiroth eyed the magician warily. "With all due respect, sir, you may not be the easiest man to talk to."

The wizard gave a rough bark of laughter. "Too true," he agreed. "Sephiroth, since you've volunteered so readily, I would be happy to charge you with the task of caring for our new friend."

"What?" Sephiroth froze. "But I don't…"

"Nonsense. You'll be perfect." Yen Sid waved his hand dismissively through the air. "Take him, speak with him, try to find out why he's here and who sent him."

"But sir," Sephiroth said, "if he is an Angel as I believe, then he won't know the answers to those questions. I certainly don't."

"Exactly." The mage turned and strode from the room. "The password is 'hope'," he called over his shoulder. "And get him some clothing, for Heart's sake."

Sephiroth debated the best course of action before finally scooping up the redhead in his arms and carrying him back his room in the tower. He knew the effects of sensory deprivation could be severe, and he thought it would be best to revive the man in more friendly surroundings, somewhere with clothes and water available.

He looked down at the wide open grey eyes of the man he held. They looked liked shuttered windows. Axel's pale face was streaked with dirt and grime from his misadventure in the courtyard that morning. Sephiroth sighed; he needed to get this man decent.

He kicked his door shut as soon as he entered the room, then gently placed the boneless body on his bed.

"Hope," Sephiroth said. But nothing happened. He tugged at the collar. Still secure. Green eyes rolled in exasperation as he leaned in close to whisper into the magical material wrapped around the slender throat. "_Hope_," he repeated.

The glow dissipated and the collar fell uselessly to the sheets. The unhealthy dark color left Axel's eyes with a blink, and they were back to their normal bright green. The redhead looked up at Sephiroth, still blinking.

"What…?"

"Don't move," Sephiroth warned. "You've been locked away for hours, maybe even all day. You'll feel disoriented and somewhat queasy if you—"

Axel grunted, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and attempting to sit up. His eyes squeezed shut in pain. "Oh, that does not feel good."

"Listen to me!" the silver-haired man barked. "I just told you not to move."

"What can I say? I'm a rebel," Axel snapped back, holding the heel of his hand against his forehead. "What the hell happened?"

"Yen Sid said you became…agitated," Sephiroth said carefully.

"The wizard." Axel blinked again, and his gaze became hooded, his eyes glazed. "Yeah. He was trying to _explain_ some things to me," he said dryly.

"Axel." Sephiroth frowned when the man didn't acknowledge him. He grabbed hold of the redhead's chin and directed him to look him in the eyes. "Did he tell you that you're an Angel?"

"An angel?" Axel ran a hand along his single white wing. "Is that what this thing is all about?"

"Perhaps." Sephiroth hesitated to say more; everything was so shrouded in questions. "Here, let's get you cleaned up," he said instead.

There was a fresh jug of water on the window sill; the servant mice made sure to replace it every evening. Sephiroth collected some towels from a drawer and dipped a corner of the cloth into the water. He held the moistened cloth out to Axel, but the man only looked at it dully and didn't move to take it.

"Would you like help?" Sephiroth offered.

"What?" Axel looked up at him, and Sephiroth realized that his eyes were lined with kohl. Interesting.

"Do you need help washing?" he clarified.

"I don't…" Axel began, but when he reached a stubborn hand out to take the towel, the limb was shaking. He withdrew it quickly. "Can't it wait? I'm tired."

Sephiroth recognized the signs of stress and shock. It was a common reaction to sensory deprivation. Although, he mused, a normal human would probably be unconscious after such a long time in isolation.

Without offering help again, Sephiroth sat next to the man and took stock of the situation. Axel's bright red hair had a few bits of cobwebs stuck to its long spikes, probably from his hiding place in the closet. The silver-haired man brushed the sticky strands away and started scrubbing Axel's neck.

The other man stayed quiet and still. Sephiroth considered he might feel ashamed about his visible weakness. Or maybe he was honestly tired. Being reborn takes a lot out of a man, after all.

"Look at me," Sephiroth murmured, gently cupping Axel's face to turn it towards him. Those green eyes stared down at the floor while Sephiroth wiped away the dust and dirt from Axel's skin. "These are interesting marks," he said conversationally as he swiped at the triangles on Axel's cheeks.

The man didn't respond.

"I see you have more," Sephiroth continued, brushing aside the cloth around the redhead's shoulders to continue bathing his skin. The designs around Axel's elbows seemed vaguely familiar: circles radiating outward from the joint, ringed with exotic points. "These look like weapons I saw once," he said. "I think, in my homeland, we called them Shiva's discs."

"Chakram," Axel said softly. "They're chakrams."

"Ah," Sephiroth said with a nod. At least now the man was talking. He moved the towel over Axel's chest, cleaning with firm circular motions. He saw the numeral VIII tattooed there on the left, just over his heart. Sephiroth decided not to ask about that.

He continued scrubbing down the redhead's flanks, where the largest tattoo climbed up his ribs on the left side. It was also done in dark ink, a stylized picture of a fire crawling up the pale skin. It seemed to extend all the way down past his slim hip, where it disappeared under the cloth pooled in Axel's lap.

"These all seem masterfully done," Sephiroth tried again. "Where did you get them?"

The bright green gaze shot up at him again. "What is it to you?" Axel spat. "You thinking of getting a heart that says 'Mom' on your arm or something?"

Sephiroth took a deep breath and tried to imagine Aerith or Zack counting to ten. Their voices always seemed much more soothing in his mind.

"Just curious," he finally answered calmly.

"Yeah? Well, I'm curious too." Axel folded his arms across his newly-cleaned chest. "Am I a prisoner here or what? What's this whole angel business about?"

"Here." Sephiroth reached forward the short distance to his desk drawer, rummaging around until he found a clean pair of pants. "Put these on and get comfortable. It's a complicated matter to explain." He dropped the clothes in Axel's lap and began, "It all started when I came back to life."

"Hey, hold up," Axel interrupted. "Before we begin Masterpiece Theater, is there a shirt to go along with this?" He held up the pants, his hand slightly less shaky.

Sephiroth sighed and stretched his wing out to full length. "How do you propose we wear shirts?" he asked.

Axel blinked. "So you just, like, walk around bare-chested all day?"

"It's not so bad." Sephiroth shrugged.

The fire starter looked pointedly at Sephiroth's broad chest, and then glanced down at his own. Axel was thinner by many pounds, it seemed. His hips especially were incredibly slim. However, Sephiroth could see the wiry strength in his muscles, a sort of lanky grace.

"Don't worry," he said. "You look fine."

Axel glared. "As if I don't know that," he growled, slipping into the pants while keeping himself covered with the old drop cloth. "Damn, these things are too big. You got a belt?"

Sephiroth gave a frustrated sigh and opened the drawer once again. "As I was saying," he muttered, "it's all very complicated, so listen closely."

And he proceeded to tell Axel the whole story.

* * *

_Author's Note: Axel's tattoo ideas are mostly taken from clever, wonderful fanartists. My favorite are the elbow tats, thought up by i(underscore)got(underscore)spunk on LJ. Anyway, thanks for giving me ideas, guys. So one more chapter down; sorry it's been so slow. I blame finals week, like everyone else. _


	5. Finding Others

Sephiroth knocked soundly on Axel's bedroom door. He had allowed the redhead to sleep in a few hours; after all, he had been up most of the night listening. When Sephiroth had finished his lengthy story, he had led Axel to an empty bedroom one floor below his own.

"Get some rest," he'd suggested. "We start tomorrow." The fire-starter hadn't asked exactly what they would start. He just waved Sephiroth off and closed the door.

But now, Sephiroth was eager to begin. He had a list of instructions in his hand for Axel: skills to master, a schedule to train with the wizards, that sort of thing. The red-haired man was weeks behind. He needed to catch up.

Sephiroth knocked again.

"Come in," Axel called gruffly.

The silver-haired man opened the door, carefully folding his single wing close to his side as he entered.

"Oh, good. You're awake," he said, seeing Axel up and already dressed. The man was folding some garments and placing them on the bed. "I see the servants have delivered your new things."

"Yeah," Axel said curtly. He grabbed a canteen from his dresser and began filling it with water from the washstand.

"Today is a Thursday," Sephiroth began, consulting the list in his hand, "and I normally begin training solo around nine, but we've obviously missed that mark. So next on the agenda is some spell casting with Merlin at eleven. If you feel up to it, we'll be—"

"I won't be there," Axel grunted. He screwed the canteen shut and placed it on top of the pile of clothing in the center of his bed. With deft hands, he grabbed the corners of the bed sheet and twisted the fabric into a bundle.

"Why not?" Sephiroth asked.

The redhead finally looked up, green eyes blazing. "Are you an idiot? Use your eyes," he spat. "I'm leaving."

"What? Why?" Sephiroth cried, watching Axel tie his makeshift pack like a one-strap bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

"Because if I'm alive, that means maybe other Nobodies are back too," he said simply. "I aim to find out."

"Did you not hear a word I said last night?" the silver-haired man barked. "You are here to train. You were chosen specifically for your abilities to be an Angel."

"By who? Why? And also, so the fuck what?" Axel lifted his wingless shoulder in a jerky shrug. "I can do what I want."

The tall redhead made his way around the bed, heading for the door, but Sephiroth blocked his way. Two pairs of green eyes flashed in defiance.

"You are here to protect the Bearers. How can you walk away from such a sacred task?" one Angel hissed to the other.

"Watch me," Axel spat back.

The red-haired man stepped forward again, but Sephiroth didn't budge. He placed a hand firmly on the doorframe in front of Axel's face.

"Who are you hunting?" he asked softly.

"This isn't any of your business," Axel answered, his eyes flickering to Sephiroth's face only for a moment. "Move aside."

"No."

Axel groaned in frustration. "I'm going to look for a friend of mine, okay? Now will you move?"

"When did you ever make a friend?" Sephiroth asked before he thought about the words.

"I could ask you the same thing," Axel sniffed.

"Who is it?" Sephiroth stood as still as stone.

A heavy sigh ruffled a few strands of bright red hair that hung in Axel's face. "No one you know. His name is Roxas." The fire-starter shifted on his feet and glanced down at his boots. "If the Light brought me back, then I figure he's back for sure."

"What makes you think that?" Sephiroth asked.

"Because he was better than me." Axel adjusted his pack absently. "In his heart, or what used to be his heart…" He shook his head as if at a loss for words. "I can't explain it, okay? But Roxas deserves to come back to life way more than me. So I'm going to find him."

"You can't go alone," Sephiroth said. "How would you even begin to search all the worlds by yourself?"

"I don't know! I haven't thought that far ahead. I'll just start sweeping each planet until I find something," Axel shouted, now so close to Sephiroth's face, he could feel the heat coming from the other man, the fire that lived just under his skin. "But he's out there! He has to be. I can't be the only one here, the only one that made it back…"

"You are," Sephiroth said calmly, holding the redhead by the shoulders to steady him. "I was told of your coming by someone I trust implicitly. He said another one was coming. One. You. You're the only one."

"No. No, it's not true." Axel's voice wavered, and his shoulders shook under Sephiroth's hands. His bright green eyes became red and wet. He wiped at them furiously. "What the hell is happening to me?"

"You're just crying." The silver-haired man wrapped his strong arms around the other Angel. Axel fought the embrace like a stubborn animal.

"And what do you think you're doing? Get off me!"

Sephiroth refused to be pushed away. "I'm holding you. It's what you do with people you trust. Go ahead and cry."

"You can go ahead and fuck yourself!" Axel yelled back.

Hot tears were falling on Sephiroth's shoulder now, one right after the other, as if they'd been held in for an entire lifetime. Or non-lifetime, as the case may be.

"It's all right if you're scared," Sephiroth said quietly into the struggling man's ear. "You have something strange in your chest, something you've never felt before. It's beating, and you're afraid of it, aren't you?"

"The noise," Axel said, sagging against the swordsman's chest. "I couldn't sleep. It feels like, like it's twisting in there! Like something's wrong with it." He looked up, swiping the tears from his face with the back of his hand. "Maybe they gave me one that's not…"

"No." Sephiroth closed his arms tighter around the other man. It was the only thing he could do; this was the only way Aerith and the others had comforted him. But it didn't seem to be working now. "No, your heart's fine. That's how they feel, sometimes."

"Then I don't want it in me anymore," Axel cried, shoving away from Sephiroth to sit on the edge of the bed in exhaustion. He untied his bundle from his back and let it fall to the floor. "If this is how a heart makes me feel, I'd rather be Heartless! I didn't ask for this."

He put his hand to his chest, his long, tapered fingers fanning out across the dark numeral found there. Axel's fingertips twitched, digging into his skin as if itching to tear out the offending muscle.

Sephiroth had only seen such human misery once before. The memory buzzed in his brain of a boy, very young and scared, crying and crying…

"Axel, don't…"

The loud sound of heavy boots on the wooden staircase interrupted his faltering words. Sephiroth turned, surprised to hear footsteps of that volume in the tower. Only humans walked like that.

"Seph, you up here?" a familiar voice called.

He froze.

A mop of brown hair appeared around the bend in the stairs, and Sora gave him a wide smile. Riku's flash of silver was close behind, but he had no time for a greeting as both boys caught sight of Axel inside the room.

There was a moment, very brief, of complete silence.

"He's alive," Riku said finally. "Everyone else sees him too, right?"

"Yeah," Sora breathed. The Keyblade Bearer took a step closer, pushing past Sephiroth to get into the room. "He's crying?"

"A heart." Riku was at the other boy's side in an instant. "Axel has a heart. What's going on here?"

Sephiroth watched the expression on the redhead's face shift from shocked blankness to something else, something more mobile. As quick as a snake, Axel sprang to his feet and grabbed Sora by the shoulders.

"Where is he?" he snarled. "Where's Roxas?"

"Take your hands off him!" Riku ordered, his weapon shimmering into view, already pressed against the side of Axel's throat.

"Axel, restrain yourself," Sephiroth warned. "Why would Sora know where your friend is?"

"Because he _is_ Sora," Axel said, not budging an inch. His attention returned to the boy. "He's free now, right? He's not a Nobody anymore?"

"Axel." Sora gently pried the thin hands from his shoulders. "I wouldn't exist if Roxas wasn't still in me. He's not…anywhere. You know that."

"But…" Axel's eyes lost their focus, and his hands dropped to his sides.

Riku grudgingly let his Keyblade disappear, nodding towards the white feathers arching over Axel's shoulder. "What's with the wing?"

"This Roxas is your Nobody?" Sephiroth asked Sora. "I didn't know that was possible."

"Long story," Sora sighed.

"Let me talk to him," Axel demanded, the fervor back in his green eyes. "Just for a minute, let him out so I can speak to him."

"It doesn't work that way," Riku protested.

"Roxas isn't some person who lives inside me, Axel," Sora said quietly. "He _is_ me. He doesn't walk or talk or come out at night. He stays a part of me all the time." His mouth turned down in a frown. "I'm sorry."

Axel dropped his gaze and let out a dry laugh. "You're sorry. Right." Another swift movement, and he'd grabbed a dagger from his boot, holding it against Sora's face. "Maybe I should try to cut that part out, huh?"

"Whoa!" Riku leapt forward, and Sephiroth reached for a weapon that wasn't there, but the brunet boy stopped him with a gesture.

"Axel won't hurt me," he said. "He can't. He sees too much Roxas in me. Isn't that right, Axel?"

"Damn you," Axel cursed, blinking through a fresh wave of tears in his eyes. The blade in his hand wavered. "I…"

A flash of silver flew at him then, tackling him to the ground. Sephiroth pinned the other man under him and slammed his wrist against the floor until the knife skittered into the hallway. His all-green eyes shimmered darkly as he leaned into Axel's tear-stained face.

"Don't even _think_ about hurting these boys ever again," he growled. "My sympathy for you will only reach so far, Axel. And you've reached the limit."

He stood fluidly, his wing stretching wide enough to brush against Sora and Riku. With a glare, he told Axel, "Get up. Clean yourself. Get ready to train. Or go, as you wish, and chase a ghost from your memories."

And with that, Sephiroth strode out.

* * *

_Author's Note: Short, but...well, not really sweet. Anyway, how are you liking this Hearted Axel? Next chapter is less angst, more fluff. _


	6. A Handful of Mashed Potatoes

Sephiroth sensed Riku and Sora following close at his heels as he stomped up the staircase towards his room. He immediately grabbed hold of the sheathed Masamune, which had been left leaning against the wall near his bed. It had been foolish to leave the room without it. Sephiroth strapped the sword to his back with crisp efficiency, promising himself to never make such a careless mistake again.

If Axel had made an honest attempt to hurt Sora…

His eyes burned with anger that seemed to verge on tears.

"Maybe you were a little hard on him," Sora's soft voice said from the doorway. "Axel's just having a difficult time adjusting."

"Are you kidding? He's getting off too easy, if you ask me," Riku scoffed. The silver-haired boy ambled into the room and seated himself easily on Sephiroth's bed. "Didn't you see the look in his eyes, Sora? He's insane."

"Enough," Sephiroth ordered quietly. The two boys were grudgingly silent. "I have placed a good deal of faith in this man," Sephiroth continued. "Perhaps I was mistaken." He finished adjusting the last buckle of his weapon's sheath. "If Axel doesn't wish to become a Guardian, then there's nothing I can do to stop him." He placed the graceful fingertips of his right hand to his temple and rubbed at the pain there. "I don't understand why the Light would ever choose men like us. What have we done to deserve this?"

Sora took a few more steps into the room and laced his fingers behind his head in a show of nonchalance. "Well, I can't speak for you," he said, "but Axel died so I could live, so I could find Riku and defeat Xenmas." He sighed, slumping.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "He didn't tell me that."

"Because it wasn't important," Axel's voice rumbled from the open doorway. Three heads turned to stare at him; his face had been scrubbed and his hair seemed less disheveled, but his eyes were on the ground, making it difficult to tell his intentions. He addressed Sephiroth as if the Bearers weren't in the room.

"Nobodies don't feel any emotion. Not happiness, not anger, not jealousy. Not fear. So when I gave up my…existence so that Sora would survive…" Axel looked up, his eyes deep green. "I wasn't brave. I wasn't heroic. Because I wasn't afraid to die. I couldn't be." His white wing rustled slightly, and he reached out a hand to stroke it, like he was quieting a restless pet. "So if that's why you think I should be this great Guardian, don't give me any medals just yet," he finished softly. With a flick of his eyes to Sora, he added, "Sorry."

Sephiroth nodded at the former Nobody. "Then you wish to leave?"

"Where would I go?" Axel said with a small, panicked laugh. "What world would take me?" He turned, calling over his shoulder, "So you still wanna do that magic practice thing?"

Sephiroth cast a glance at Sora, but the boy just shrugged. With a sigh, the silver-haired Angel went after the redhead, beckoning the boys to follow.

"Why don't we all just get some food?" he suggested. He'd managed to keep Axel at the castle somehow, and he didn't want to upset the fragile truce with a spell-casting lesson.

The royal dining hall was a long, open room with small tables scattered about the space. Elderly female workers served food from a buffet, and any citizen who came during the appointed mealtimes could eat their fill.

Axel looked amazed as a cow in a polka-dot dress heaped mashed potatoes on his tray. "This is a lot like high school," he muttered.

A few spaces down the line, Riku frowned back at him. "You…remember high school?"

"Courtesy of my Other," the redhead answered, wrinkling his nose at a serving of what looked like noodle casserole.

Sephiroth filed that information away, moving slowly beside Axel as the line shuffled onward.

"Isn't there some meatloaf or something?" the man asked gruffly, eyeing the spread of peas, breads, and other vegetarian offerings. The cow scowled at him and then stuck her nose up in the air, affronted.

"They don't eat meat here," Sora whispered to him.

"No meat! You have got to be kidding me!" The chatter of the dining hall quieted, and several pigs, sheep, and goats glared at the newcomer.

"Just. Sit. Down," Sephiroth growled. The last thing he needed was Axel getting into a fistfight in the Happiest Place in the Universe. If he couldn't keep him under control here, where could he?

"Fine," Axel huffed, choosing a table dangerously close to a group of overall-clad bulls who didn't seem to appreciate his choice. Sephiroth and the two boys took their seats, digging into their meals.

"Perhaps today we should do some research in the library," Sephiroth suggested. "Like yourself, I have many questions about your appearance. Some of the ancient texts may be able to help us figure out what has occurred." Sora and Riku watched as Sephiroth took his soup spoon in his hand to gesture while he spoke. "For instance, why haven't any Angels been activated since, to my knowledge, the Keyblade War? And why were we chosen to return as Angels? It couldn't be the quality of our hearts, because you had none, and mine was sorely lacking, I'll admit. So it must be some other shared…"

A thwack interrupted him. Sephiroth blinked through a clump of slowly-falling mashed potatoes that had been propelled onto his forehead. Axel sat across from him, grinning, with his spoon still in the strike position.

"Your thoughtful face was just begging for it," he explained, flashing his teeth in a smile.

Without a twitch in his demeanor, Sephiroth scooped up a healthy dose of his own potatoes and catapulted them with practiced grace directly into Axel's right eye.

"Same to you," the silver-haired man said.

Axel threw a handful of noodles, which stuck in Sephiroth's hair. A biscuit bounced harmlessly off Axel's cheek, which was answered with several cubes of lime Jell-o. Sora and Riku watched the exchange like a tennis match.

Unfortunately, one of the Jell-o cubes wobbled off target and fell into the soup of a bull at the next table. Snorting with anger, the bull stood up.

"Hey, Ferdinand, don't—" the cow behind the food line tried to admonish, but the bull flung his entire tray of food at Axel's head. The former Nobody ducked quickly, and the little sheep sitting behind him received the brunt of the soup over her head.

In the center of the dining hall, Goofy's son, Max, leapt on top of a table and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Food fight!"

Chaos erupted in the dining hall, with all the animals flinging their unused morsels at each other. Sora and Riku immediately went into a defensive back-to-back position.

"I'm running low on peas!" Sora yelled to his partner, flinging well-aimed spoonfuls at Max, who had more Jell-o than seemed fair.

"Here, take these. Buckwheat pancakes. Pretty deadly," Riku shouted over the din, shooting his food like Frisbees at his attackers' heads.

Sora grabbed a few pancakes from Riku's stack, laughing as Riku was hit with a soufflé missile from a pair of geese.

Sephiroth managed to dump a tray load of food down the shirt of a hen that had been trying to peg him with the tofu surprise. He looked around wildly, wondering where Axel had gone.

"Down here, man. Better take cover," Axel called from under a table, which seemed to serve as a fort.

Sephiroth dodged a flying soup tureen and crawled under the table. "I used to be in charge of an entire army," he said mournfully, picking noodles out of his hair. "Now I'm reduced to this. Can't you go one minute without causing me trouble?"

Axel smile slyly, then leaned forward and, with one long finger, swiped at some mashed potatoes that still clung to the side of Sephiroth's face. He licked the food from the digit and said, "Tastes better this way."

Sephiroth blinked. Curious behavior. "What are you…?"

"What is going on here?!" a roar came from the entrance. The laughter and yelling and splatters of food ceased immediately, and silence descended over the hall. Sephiroth peeked between two chair legs and saw Yen Sid standing tall in his dark robes.

The wizard leveled a glare at the two men under the table. "Gentlemen, please come out from under the furniture. And come with me."

* * *

Sephiroth had never had proper, normal schooling. Thus, he'd never had a principal. But he could imagine that, if he had, this moment would be very similar to sitting in that principal's office.

Axel still had beet juice on his face and squished peas in his hair. Sephiroth had managed to slough off the most of the food from the fight, but the sickly green Jell-o had melted and left the color in his pale hair. He hoped, for Axel's sake, that it would wash out.

They were in the royal study, sitting in chairs as Yen Sid paced the room in silent anger. Finally, the wizard turned on them and spat, "I can't help but think you two were the cause of this afternoon's immature antics. Care to explain why forty thousand munny's worth of foodstuffs was wasted in such a manner?"

Sephiroth glanced at Axel from behind his wet, green strands of hair. The redhead picked a lima bean from his pant cuff absently.

"Just thought it would be fun," he said. "Everyone in this place seemed a little uptight. It lightened the mood, you know?"

"Not my mood, young man," the wizard growled. Turning to Sephiroth, he asked, "Did Axel act alone in this little social experiment?"

"No, sir." Sephiroth groaned internally at his schoolboy voice. "Axel may have started it, but I…improved upon it." He gave a half shrug.

"Didja at least have some fun?" the King's voice came from the doorway. He wore a wry smile. "I just saw the damage. Must've been a wild one, huh?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. It was." Sephiroth allowed himself an answering smile.

Mickey gave a little laugh. "That's good, fellas. I'm glad to hear it. Now, how are you at scrubbing?" He produced, from behind his back, two very, very small cleaning brushes. "Because you'll be doing it for awhile, I'm guessin'."

Axel gave a loud groan. "It'll take all day!"

"Better get started," the mouse said, dropping the brushes in their laps and ambling off.

* * *

It was late that evening when Axel and Sephiroth finished cleaning the dining hall. Yen Sid kept a sharp eye on them to make sure they didn't use magic to help the clean-up.

"Why not?" Axel had protested, waving his little brush. "One big water spell and this would all be done."

"But you would not learn your lesson," Yen Sid had replied. "Besides, using magic for such mundane things can easily get out of hand and cause more harm than good. His Majesty can attest to that," he finished under his breath.

So the two Angels scrubbed every inch of the room by hand, and finally dragged themselves, sticky and aching, to the washrooms. Like the dining hall, the castle's washing facilities were communal, though split into the men's and women's rooms. A few showers lined one wall of the room, and large pools of water dominated the center. Some sort of magic must have kept them heated, because they were always perfectly warm. Because of the late hour, the two Angels had the place to themselves.

"Is it coming out?" Sephiroth grunted at Axel, indicating the silver strands he was currently washing with great fervor.

"I think so," Axel said, peeking out from under his own shower spray. "Shame. The green looked sort of cool."

"I don't want to look cool," Sephiroth muttered, pulling his hair over his shoulder so he could examine it. "I want to look like myself."

The red-haired Angel laughed, shutting off his showerhead and stepping over to the soaking pool. "My back is killing me," he mumbled, sinking into the swirling water. Natural-looking rock formations just under the surface provided seats along the water's edge. Axel sat and leaned his hand back with a sigh. "Totally worth it, though."

Sephiroth squeezed the last drops of vibrant green water from his hair and shut off his shower as well, joining Axel in the pool. "I'd never seen anything like it. What exactly possessed you to start that food fight, Axel?"

The redhead closed his eyes and smirked. "Seeing Sora and Riku getting all serious along with you. It's one thing for you and me to be fretting over the whole Angel deal, but those kids should be putting firecrackers in toilets and stuff. Not worrying about the balance of the Universe."

"They aren't normal boys," Sephiroth pointed out. He sunk lower, letting the steaming water lap at his collarbones. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back as well. The water worked its warmth into his tired body, providing calming relaxation.

"All the more reason," Axel retorted, hiding a yawn behind his hand. Sephiroth glanced at him, trying to determine his physical and mental state. It was no wonder the new Angel was exhausted; that was to be expected. But Sephiroth could not fathom the reasons behind the man's mood swings.

The silver-haired man closed his eyes in thought. One minute Axel had been stoic and determined to leave the castle, only to be nearly hysterical moments later. Then he turned almost violent before becoming resigned. Then, at lunch, he turned playful. And now?

Now his deep voice held a hint of nostalgia, as if he missed out on his own childhood frivolity. Well, he's not the only one, Sephiroth thought bitterly. It's no excuse to act irresponsible.

Maybe Riku was right. Maybe Axel was insane.

The water sloshed around the edges of the pool, and Sephiroth listened to the sound of it sluicing off Axel as he lifted himself out. His wet feet padded along the stone floor, and Sephiroth cracked open an eye to watch the redhead grab a towel from a nearby stack and begin drying off.

"So when's it going to happen?" Axel asked conversationally.

"Hmm?" Sephiroth frowned. Did he mean training?

"When are we going to fuck?" he clarified, standing above Sephiroth clad only in the dripping towel wrapped around his waist.

"I…what?"

"Come on, Seph." Axel knelt down on the floor with a small smile, and Sephiroth twisted around in the pool to keep him within sight. "Before the brats showed up today, you and I were getting pretty cozy."

Sephiroth blinked. "I was only holding you."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Yeah. And I know what it means when someone holds you like that." He made a show of examining his fingernails, calling forth a small flame at the tip of each finger. "So is it going to be sooner, or later?"

"You misunderstand." Sephiroth wanted to get out of the pool, to be on equal footing with the other man, but suddenly, his nudity seemed more of an issue than he'd thought earlier.

"I don't think I do," Axel said softly, and leaned down and brushed a kiss against Sephiroth's frozen lips. When the silver-haired man remained still, Axel attempted to deepen the kiss, but was stopped by a powerful hand on his shoulder, keeping him at arm's length.

"I'm in love with someone else," Sephiroth whispered, his bright green gaze riveted to the surface of the water.

"So what?" Axel said breathlessly. "Join the club." He made another swoop towards Sephiroth's mouth, but this time the other man shoved him away with enough force to send him reeling backward.

Sephiroth stayed silent, looking at Axel sprawled on the damp floor. His eyes were wide and the set of his mouth, grim.

"I sincerely hope," he said sadly, "that you learn to use the heart that was given to you."

Heedless of any embarrassment because there was so much already in the room, Sephiroth rose from the water and took a towel for himself. After securing it around his hips, he offered a hand to Axel.

The redhead stared at it blankly.

"We'll do some sparring tomorrow," Sephiroth said, as if nothing had happened. "Come on, we should get some rest."

"That's it?" Axel asked warily.

"You made a mistake," Sephiroth said, his hand never wavering. "I will look past it this time."

To Sephiroth's surprise, Axel's face colored slightly. Whether it was in anger or humiliation, Sephiroth could not say. But Axel nodded, finally took his offered hand, and hauled himself to his feet.

"See you later," he growled, and stalked out of the room, grabbing his pants and boots as he went.

Sephiroth sighed and looked at his feet; that could have gone better. He collected his clothing and the Masamune and sedately headed for his room.

* * *

_ Author's Note: Another chapter down. What'd ya think? Are you liking the dope-ass Disney pool? (Anyone heard that standup by MC Chris about KH2? Oh, nevermind.) Hope you are enjoying. Next up, teenage!angst and the plot thickens...  
_


	7. Sharing Dreams

_Chapter warning: Borderline non-con (not too-explicit sex). _

* * *

"Hey Seph?"

Sephiroth paused in the dimly lit hallway, his silver hair still dripping, his damp towel still held precariously about his waist.

"Yes, Sora?" he answered, his voice betraying his weariness. The day had been a rollercoaster; rather, dealing with Axel had been a rollercoaster, and Sephiroth was glad to be mere steps away from his warm bed.

"Um, Riku and I will be in the room on the ground floor. Just wanted to let you know," the brunet boy said. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt; he was already dressed for bed.

"That's fine. I'll see you in the morning," the one-winged Angel said, turning to open his door.

"Seph?" Sora's voice pitched slightly higher. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Sephiroth fought the urge to groan. He was so _tired_. "We're talking right now," he pointed out.

"I mean, in private." The young Keyblade Bearer motioned to Sephiroth's bedroom, and, with a sigh, the man waved the boy inside. Sora took a seat on the meticulously made bed while Sephiroth slipped on pajama pants under his towel before hanging it up.

"What's the matter?"

Sora picked at a loose thread on the bedcovers, his tanned face turning a delicate pink. "It's kind of embarrassing."

"Trust me, nothing more could embarrass me today," Sephiroth mumbled to himself. He picked a comb from his dresser and dragged it through his wet hair.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

Sephiroth coughed. "Nothing. Just…being a grown man involved in a food fight. That's all I meant."

The boy nodded. "Right. Well. I wanted to ask you about, um, you know." He fidgeted with his fingernails before sitting on his hands. "How do you get to third base?" he blurted out.

"What's third base?" Sephiroth sighed.

"Come on! First base, second base…" Sora trailed off with a frown. "Didn't you play baseball in your home world?"

"I'm afraid not." Sephiroth replaced the comb on the dresser with a clack. "But if you need to review the game's rules, perhaps the library will—"

"No! It's not a real game. Well, it is, but it's just an expression for, for, you know," Sora lowered his voice, "sex."

Sephiroth turned sharply to glower at the boy. "What?"

"I mean, Riku and I have kissed, and that's first base." The boy bit his lip and scratched the back of his head. "And second base is touching. You know, over clothes? Like—"

"Yes, I get the picture," Sephiroth snapped.

"And so tonight I wanted to…" Sora shrugged sheepishly. "Riku and I haven't had a lot of time alone lately. I just wanted to sort of take my chance. But I'm worried about what comes next. So I wanted to ask you…"

"You…" Sephiroth's eye twitched once. "You two are _not _sharing a room," the silver-haired man boomed. He moved quickly about the room, dragging pillows and bedclothes onto the floor. Sora yelped as the cloth moved from under him. "You will stay in here. Riku will sleep downstairs. I'll sleep on the floor."

"That's not fair!" Sora cried. "You were okay with us sharing earlier."

"Earlier, I didn't know you planned on having a little midnight orgy," he retorted. Then he paused, raising a concerned eyebrow. "You're still a virgin, right?"

Sora huffed and rolled his eyes. "Geez, _Mom_. I haven't even rounded third yet. Besides," he said with a smile, "don't orgies need more than two people?" He held up two fingers to illustrate his point.

Sephiroth blinked, then turned back to creating his makeshift bed on the floor. "You're _never _going to leave my sight. Ever."

"You can't be serious, Seph." Sora raked his hands through his mop of brown hair in frustration. "Don't you remember what it was like to be young and in love?"

"No, I do not," Sephiroth replied with ice in his voice. His chin dropped to his chest, and a curtain of silver hair hid his face. "I do not."

"What do you remember, then?" Sora's voice was blunt.

Sephiroth sighed and said, "Go to sleep, Sora."

There was a tap on the door, and Riku poked his head in the room, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Sora, aren't you coming to bed?" he asked.

Sora glanced over the edge of the bed, but Sephiroth had already rolled himself in the bedclothes on the floor, turning his back to the young boy. Sora sighed and pointed to the bed he sat on, indicating to Riku that he'd be spending the night there. The silver-haired boy raised an eyebrow and tilted his head at Sephiroth's form questioningly. Sora shook his head and shrugged, mouthing the words, "Talk tomorrow. Good night."

"Love you," Riku mouthed back, closing the door softly, leaving the two to sleep.

Sephiroth stayed awake for a long time, listening to the night sounds of the castle. There was Sora's light snoring. A crow cawed far away, its cries floating through the window on the still air. Sounds of puttering around downstairs in Axel's room; perhaps the redhead couldn't sleep either, Sephiroth thought.

The Angel shut his eyes, and when sleep finally came, this is what he dreamt:

_Sephiroth found himself in an old theater, the kind with a gently sloping floor and a dusty red velvet curtain hiding the stage. The place was empty, and his heavy boots echoed as he stepped down the aisle, passing the rows of plush seats. The lights flickered and then dimmed, and it only seemed fitting to take a chair for himself. _

_The curtain pulled back to reveal a projection screen, and on the screen, a film began to play. The colors were hazy, as if the film had been damaged by age or exposure. But the shadows finally solidified to show a dark cavern cloaked in mist. _

"_The Underworld," a deep voice intoned. "Where the dead gather. And the undead wait."_

_The camera panned, and Sephiroth saw himself. His old self, the Great General, with flowing silver locks and steely, soulless eyes. In his creaking chair, Sephiroth sat up straighter. _

"_What is this?" he whispered. _

_The Sephiroth on the screen tilted his head towards something off-camera, and the next shot revealed a silhouette in the mouth of the cave. Unruly spikes of hair. A massive wedge of a sword. _

"_Cloud," both Sephiroths said, one in amusement, one in wonder._

"_What brings you to Hades' realm?" the faded Sephiroth asked, stalking around the blond like a panther. "Why do you still bear his mark?"_

_Cloud's leathery bat wing rustled against his shoulder, and he answered, "I have not been released from his contract. I went to find my Light; that was our deal. The wing would go when I found it. I found Aerith but…"_

"_She wasn't your Light? How interesting." Sephiroth gave a feral smile. "But why come here?"_

_Cloud shrugged, his blue eyes staring blankly at the floor of Hell. _

"_My poor Puppet. You know nothing else," Sephiroth whispered in Cloud's ear; he was suddenly pressed against the other man from behind, his gloved hands clasping the slim waist. _

_In the audience, Sephiroth covered his mouth with his hand to muffle his gasp. _

_On the screen, the long-haired man looked at the camera and gave a small, slow grin, like a vampire showing its teeth before a kill. _

"_I could hurt you," Sephiroth mused. _

_Cloud didn't blink. "Go ahead."_

"_I could kill you," Sephiroth pressed. _

"_I don't care." Cloud didn't even flinch. _

"_Oh, Puppet." A long finger covered in black leather stroked the side of Cloud's pale face in a mockery of affection. "You're like a broken toy." There was a glint in his blazing green eyes, with tiny feline pupils. _

_Sephiroth recognized that look. "Don't—"_

_But they couldn't hear him. Inside the fuzzy memory, Sephiroth grasped the leathery black wing that hung from behind Cloud's shoulder and wrenched it from his back. The blond man screamed in pain as the appendage was ripped away; the sounds of snapping bones and tearing flesh echoed in the theatre. _

"_Stop! You'll kill him!" Sephiroth screamed, out of his seat now, pounding on the back on the one in front of him with clenched fists. "Stop it!"_

_The on-screen Sephiroth dropped the severed wing to the ground, where it twitched in the dust. Cloud fell beside it, trying to stanch the blood flowing from his wound. _

"_No one puts strings on my Puppet," Sephiroth hissed. "You are **mine** alone." _

"_Please…" Cloud choked out. _

_Sephiroth fisted his hands in the front of Cloud's shirt, lifting him up in the air. "I'll play with you, and then cast you aside. That's what broken things are for." He gave a dark laugh. "Did you crawl back here to stand by me after all this time? Do you long to fall into Darkness with me?" He nuzzled at Cloud's throat, licking at the skin covered in a sheen of sweat. "You're nothing without that fire in your eyes. I can barely stand to touch you." _

"_Please," Cloud tried again. His hands stopped scrambling at his wound, and he slumped in Sephiroth's arms, letting himself bleed. "Touch me."_

_Another knowing smile was directed at the audience, over Cloud's shoulder._

"_Let him go. He doesn't—" Sephiroth cried, watching his other self tear the bloody clothes from Cloud's body. "Don't do this," he pleaded as Cloud was pressed to the ground, his legs spread impossibly wide. There was the rough scrape of leather against pale skin; the pain in Cloud's eyes as he was pinned on the dirt and gravel by Sephiroth's hands; the total acceptance of his fate as he did nothing to fight off his attacker. Cruel hands swept over his body, leaving bruises in their wake. Sharp teeth bit at his throat and chest, drawing blood occasionally. Still, Cloud's vacant expression did not change, save for a small cry as Sephiroth positioned his hips and thrust with savage force into his body. _

_He couldn't watch anymore, and Sephiroth covered his weeping eyes with his hands. But the sounds of the coupling couldn't be shut out, and shouts and groans met his ears. _

"_Holy Hell," a new voice said. _

_Sephiroth picked his head up to look wildly about the empty theater. There, in a row across the room, stood a tall redhead. Axel stared at the screen, where the brutal memory was still playing. Sensing a presence, the Angel met Sephiroth's gaze. His mouth hung open. _

"_Seph?" he asked. "What is this?"_

"_A nightmare," he answered. "The worst possible nightmare." _

_Axel crossed the distance between them and shoved at Sephiroth's chest, shouting, "Then wake up, damn it!"_

He jolted awake, sitting bolt upright in his nest of bedclothes on the floor. Sephiroth panted for breath in the heavy night air, his head still spinning. He ran a hand over his sweaty forehead.

Just a dream.

He immediately took stock of the room. Everything was as he'd left it, except that Riku was now sharing the bed with Sora. Both boys were curled up together, still clad in their pajamas. Sephiroth guessed the older boy had gotten impatient sometime during the night and had snuck in. Well, it couldn't be helped now. He draped another blanket over the snoring boys and headed out into the hallway, grabbing his sword as he left the room.

There was no possibility of sleeping any more tonight, Sephiroth was sure of that.

He crept down the still-dark hallway, thinking of perhaps going down to the training room to let off some steam. But as he passed Axel's room on the stairs, the door creaked open and the other man's red head popped out.

"Can't sleep either?" the Angel whispered.

Sephiroth shook his head silently. He put his hand on the banister and leaned there for a moment, as Axel didn't seem to be finished.

Axel gave a short laugh. "I can't seem to get more than a few minutes' worth. I had this weird dream…"

Sephiroth stiffened, his eyes wide, but didn't speak.

Curious green eyes searched his face. "You were in it."

Closing his eyes with a sigh, Sephiroth scrambled to think of a response. "I suppose I should be flattered," he said, "if you're having those sorts of dreams about me."

Axel opened his mouth to retort, but identical green eyes flashed at him in warning from under silver hair. Sephiroth's message was clear: Do not push me.

Finally, the redhead gave up on the staring contest and laughed softly. "Yeah, what can I say? Thinking of you keeps me up all night." To further the joke, Axel grabbed himself crudely through his pajama pants.

Sephiroth sighed heavily. "How lovely," he muttered. But the sarcasm was just a smoke screen; he was relieved that the man had not questioned him further.

But if they could somehow share dreams…? Was that some sort of angelic power?

"Hey, that's your thinking face," Axel said with a frown. "What is it?"

Sephiroth shook the theories from his mind. It was too clouded, anyway. "Nothing," he answered. "Would you like to spar with me? We have plenty of time before the others wake up."

"As long as hand-to-hand is fine with you." Axel lifted his bare palms in the air for inspection. "I don't have a weapon anymore."

Sephiroth gave him a small smile with no malice behind it. "Let's remedy that, shall we?"

* * *

_Author's Note: Thanks for putting up with me, everyone. I know this is a slow story. I have no idea how many more chapters are needed. Five? Ten? A billion? It's a lot, anyway. Let me know how it's going so far. _


	8. A Clue in the Library

Axel eyed the portal in front of his face. It swirled black and purple, and a distinct chill emanated from its depths. "No way," he said. "I am not putting my hand in there."

Sephiroth sighed. They were in the training room, which was currently a blank slate, just white walls. The silver-haired Angel had related the story of pulling the Masamune from its hiding place in the Dark Realm, and had told Axel to concentrate on finding his own weapons of choice, the chakrams. But the man refused to touch the portal that had opened after his meditation.

"You'll never get them back if you don't," he pointed out, crossing his arms over his bare chest. They both still wore their loose cotton sleeping pants: Sephiroth in grey, Axel in dark blue.

"What makes you so sure they're in there?" Axel asked, gesturing towards the portal in distaste.

"I've wielded this weapon for as long as I can remember. We're connected; I could feel it the moment I called for it on the battlefield. And you feel the same," Sephiroth urged. "If you didn't, you would have shut the portal already."

Axel shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He ran his hands up his forearms, as if pushing up nonexistent shirt sleeves. "Here goes nothing."

He dipped his fingers into the inky blackness, and his hand disappeared up to his wrist. "Fuck," Axel cursed. "That's cold."

"Just get it over with," Sephiroth advised. "Like removing a bandage."

Biting back more curses, Axel complied, plunging his entire arm into the portal up to his shoulder. He rooted around in the dark until, with a yelp of joy, he pulled out two spiked wheels of shining metal. The portal snapped shut, and the redhead hefted his newly recovered weapons, one in each hand.

"Oh, Anna," Axel cooed to the one in his right hand, "you're back, sweetness. And Betsy!" He kissed the cold tips of the chakram in his left hand. "I never thought I'd see you again, baby."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Your weapons are girls?"

"Hey, don't judge me." Axel grinned and spun the chakrams in his hands, testing their weight. "Women are deadly. And so are my two favorite ladies. He gestured to Sephiroth's sheathed sword with his right-hand chakram, and Sephiroth wondered at the ease that his thin figure manipulated the heavy instruments. "Besides, you named that Masa-whatever."

"I did not." Sephiroth bristled. "I call it the Masamune after its legendary swordsmith. He is famous in my home world. All his swords bear his name."

"Well, la ti da." Axel twirled his weapons, enveloping them with crackling fire in his hands. "So how do you want to do this? Do you usually have a lot of rules for sparring, or do you do it more," he grinned, "freestyle?"

Sephiroth unsheathed his long sword and answered with a smirk of his own. "I wouldn't want to hurt such a delicate creature as yourself."

"Tch." Axel snorted. "You wish. Come at me with everything you got. I can take it." He set a flaming chakram on his shoulder, unperturbed by its heat, and let the other dangle at his side. A bored, indulgent smile grew on his face.

Sephiroth nodded. "Very well."

Axel sprang directly into the fight with a war cry, as if he'd been bottling up his ferocity for days. Sephiroth blocked his initial attack easily, but the fire-maker was just getting started. With all the flames dancing in tandem in Axel's attacks, Sephiroth could tell that the fight was not going to stay purely physical.

His eyes narrowed. He was still uncomfortable with using his magic, but if Axel said he could take it…

Lightning crackled from Sephiroth's outstretched hand, blasting his redheaded opponent squarely in the chest.

"Heh." Axel recovered with amazing speed, picking himself off the ground within seconds of the spell. "It figures that's your preferred element," he said with a gleam in his eye.

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth dodged the sharp edges of the chakrams that Axel was wielding with such grace.

"Lightning," the redhead grunted, using Anna as a shield to block a slash from the Masamune. "It's pure energy, completely unpredictable."

"Much like fire," Sephiroth observed, feinting to the left and then striking to the right. But Axel was very fast, and blocked that too.

The redhead laughed again, calling up more flames to lick up the spokes of his weapons. "No, it's nothing like fire." Strike, jump, block, strike. "Fire is a living, breathing thing. It's born and it dies."

The scrape and ring of metal on metal became more hurried as their battle intensified.

"Lightning is momentary," Axel continued without breaking his stride. "It's gone in an instant. All that power, but no lasting warmth." He ducked under the sweep of Sephiroth's blade, the tips of his red spikes barely escaping its sharp edge. "It's too cold for my taste," he concluded, backing away slightly.

"Is that so?" Sephiroth eyed the telltale grip Axel had on Anna; the redhead threw the disc, and Sephiroth shifted to just narrowly avoid the spinning spikes. The chakram embedded itself in the far wall, and Axel raised his hand in the air with a smirk, only to freeze as realization hit him.

"For someone so perceptive, you seem to forget you can't call your weapons back to you anymore," Sephiroth taunted. "They're stuck in the corporeal world now."

He stalked closer to Axel, raising the Masamune in preparation for his attack.

"Shit," Axel breathed, hefting his remaining weapon to shield his face.

The blade crashed against Betsy with jarring force, and Axel fell backwards on the ground. Sephiroth placed one bare foot on Axel's chest and placed the very tip of his blade at the hollow of the other's throat.

"Concede?" he asked.

"Not on your life," Axel hissed. He swung his chakram upwards to knock the sword away from his neck and tried to roll away from his attacker. But Sephiroth hooked his blade between two of Betsy's spokes, and with a flick of his wrist, divested Axel of his weapon. The redhead reached as far as he could, but Betsy had clattered to the ground many yards away.

"Now?" Sephiroth prompted.

"Doesn't leave me helpless," the redhead warned. His hands glowed brightly as he prepared a fire spell.

Reacting quickly, Sephiroth fell to his knees, pinning Axel by the wrists and muttering his own spell. The other Angel howled as his hands became encased in ice.

"Cheating bastard!" Axel shouted, trying to move his frozen hands.

Sephiroth smirked. "I can't be cheating. There are no rules."

"Fine." Axel sighed. He turned his head to the side on the floor, his sleep-mussed red hair framing his face. With a sigh, he relaxed under Sephiroth's hold, flopping to the floor in a sweaty heap. "You win."

Sephiroth blinked. The fight couldn't be over so soon, could it? It had actually been…enjoyable.

"Hey, I've been thinking," Axel continued, nonchalantly shifting his legs so he lay underneath Sephiroth's weight more comfortably; the silver-haired man didn't seem to be moving. "When you're dealing with a fire demon, you use ice spells, right?" He clacked his frozen hands against the white floor in demonstration. The melting ice broke off his pinked skin in clear slivers. Axel cupped his hands in front of his mouth, breathing warmth back into them.

"Obviously," Sephiroth replied dryly. He leaned back a little to fold his arms across his chest; the point that Axel was making in that roundabout way of his was starting to sink in. "And a proper magic user fights lightning with water and vice versa. In my home world, that was the first magic lesson every novice learned."

Axel nodded. "Yeah, same here. So is it just a coincidence that I came in a snowfall and you…?"

"Appeared in a lake," Sephiroth finished. His mind was whirling now. They had both come back to the world of the living in their opposite element. What did that mean?

"Hmm, that thinking face looks better on you than me," Axel murmured softly. He lifted his left knee up to graze Sephiroth's bare flank; the silver-haired man jolted at the contact.

He looked down with wide eyes, suddenly realizing that he was still sitting on top of the other man. Axel's hooded gaze twinkled with mischief, and his lazy sprawl was relaxed. But Sephiroth could not help but be reminded of that horrible dream that he'd just escaped from.

For a moment, the man pinned beneath him felt like Cloud. Red locks turned blond, and blazing green became eerie blue. And instead of a smile, pain. The exact opposite of everything.

Axel's grin faded. "What's wrong?" he asked, not moving his knee.

Sephiroth could feel all the color leeching from his face, and he fought the tremble in his limbs as he got to his feet.

"Seph?" the redhead called after him as he strode out of the training room, pausing only to grab his sword from the floor. Axel sighed as he watched the man's exit. "Don't worry," he muttered to the empty room. "I can get up on my own. No problem."

With a grunt of exertion, Axel stood and brushed himself off. He followed the other Angel out into the courtyard.

"Hey, you guys see a tall guy come this way? One wing? Silver hair? Lots of issues?" Axel called across the grass. In the shade of a large topiary, Riku and Sora sat up to watch the redhead approach.

"Yeah, he just came by," Riku said, brow furrowed.

"What did you do to make Seph so mad?" Sora accused. "He didn't even answer when I said hi."

Axel sighed, looking down at the two boys on the ground. They must have been laying out here for awhile, he guessed; the grass was matted down in the shape of their bodies. He ignored Sora's question.

"Did you see which way he went?"

Riku pointed toward a doorway. "The library," he said. "Tell him to remember to eat breakfast. He forgets sometimes."

"More like all the time," Sora said with a roll of his eyes.

Axel nodded, still looking at the library's ornate door. "Yeah," he said distractedly. Leaving the two boys alone again, he strode towards the library, belting his chakrams securely to his hips.

The door creaked as Axel opened it. He peered into the grand, high-ceilinged room, filled with stuffed bookshelves. Chairs covered in rich brown leather were scattered about the floor, hunched under little green-shaded reading lamps. Axel frowned. This wasn't his kind of place.

"Close the door, please," a voice whispered.

Axel nearly jumped and stared down at where the voice had come from. A tiny brown mouse with glasses balanced on his nose blinked up at him.

"The door. Please come in and close it behind you," the librarian mouse whispered a little more forcefully.

Axel complied. "I'm looking for—"

"Shush!" The mouse held a finger in front of his lips to gesture for quiet. "Whisper inside, please."

The redhead rolled his eyes and dropped his voice to a tiny hiss. "Sephiroth. Where is he?"

The librarian pointed down the row of books. "In the antiquarian section. Go down the row, take a right, then left, left again, right, and then…"

"I'll manage," Axel said, stalking past the bookcases without waiting for all the directions. The mouse twittered in displeasure as he left.

After wandering the quiet aisles for a long time, Axel finally caught sight of a flash of silver hair. He approached Sephiroth from behind, mindful of his loud footfalls in the silent room.

"So…" he began, lifting an eyebrow at the stack of dusty tomes Sephiroth kept pulling from the shelf.

"I've been meaning to look up information in the old chronicles," Sephiroth said evenly. He paged through another heavy book before replacing it with a sigh. "None of these seem to be very useful, however."

"Yeah?" Axel crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his hip against one of the bookshelves. "And you just thought, what, that now would be a good time to freak out for no reason and run into the library?"

Sephiroth didn't answer. He only pulled down another volume and leafed through the index.

The redhead sighed heavily. His wing twitched against his side. "Fine. Don't talk to me. See what I care." He started to push away from the bookshelf when it suddenly gave away under his weight. Axel gave a startled yelp as he fell backwards a few feet.

Sephiroth spun around with a gasp. "What did you…?"

Axel regained his footing and looked at the hole in the bookshelf. "It's a door," he said. "Some kind of hidden door." He pried open the little door in the bookcase, revealing a small shelf recessed into the wood.

A large leather-bound book sat there, coated in dust.

Carefully, Sephiroth removed the tome and looked at the cover. Strange symbols were embossed there in gold.

"I don't recognize this language," he whispered. "Do you?"

Axel peered at the pages that Sephiroth was beginning to study. The richly colored text was familiar, yet incomprehensible.

"No," he said. "But this sort of speaks for itself." He tapped his finger against a crude drawing of a man rising above some sort of battle scene. One wing stuck out from his shoulder.

"These are the chronicles of the Angels," Sephiroth breathed. "It must be hundreds of years old."

"Seph!" an urgent whisper floated through the library. "Axel? You in here?" It was Sora's voice.

With lightning quick reflexes, Axel slammed the secret door shut and Sephiroth hid the book behind his back. Sora stuck his head around the corner, grinning when he saw them.

"This place is a maze," Sora joked. "It took forever to find you."

"Sorry, we were just…" Sephiroth glanced at Axel for help.

The redhead grabbed a random book from the shelf. "Just too engrossed with all this stuff." He smiled widely. "All these nifty books. It's a Guardian thing."

"Oh." Sora frowned. "Well, I hope you guys won't be too busy this week. You're going to help with the ball, right?"

"Ball?" both men asked.

Sora nodded slowly as if talking to children. "The big ball? Where all the princesses from the other worlds come with their royal households? The reason Riku and I are here?" At the Angels' twin looks of confusion, Sora added, "Everyone's been talking about it for days. You haven't heard?"

"I'm sure I have. But with everything that's happened," Sephiroth glanced at Axel, "it must have slipped my mind."

"Well, if you want to take a break from reading, come help us. The decorations are ready." And with a wave, Sora disappeared between the walls of books.

When he was sure they were alone again, Sephiroth took the book in his hands and held it out to Axel. "We need to translate this text. Now."

The redhead sighed and stuffed the book under his arm. "Fine. But after I'm done with my homework, you better let me go to this party."

* * *

_Author's Note: I am very, very sorry that so many months went by without an update. Same old story, yadda yadda yadda, real life is hard and stuff. I wrote most of this chapter back in January and just found the time to complete it. If anyone is still interested in this, I will try my best to finish the story. Thank you for your patience.  
_


	9. Two Wings

Axel threw a slim reference volume to the floor and sprawled out on Sephiroth's bed, his mouth twisted in distaste. "I can't find a single language that looks like this stuff," he complained. "Not Arabic, not Chinese, not Greek. We're wasting our time."

Sephiroth didn't look up from the books in his lap. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the bed. "Keep looking," he replied, comparing the strange symbols in the dusty Chronicles to other lines of text. "It has to be here somewhere."

They had managed to smuggle the secret book out of the library, along with numerous volumes on language and ancient cultures. With their weapons discarded in a pile by the door, the two Angels had been holed up in Sephiroth's room for hours, but hadn't gotten any further in discovering the source of the alien text.

"I still don't see why we can't ask Sora or Riku to help," Axel grumbled, flipping open another book. "Maybe they would recognize it. They've traveled more than anyone."

"No," the silver-haired man insisted for the third time. "This book has been hidden from us for a reason; either Yen Sid and Merlin knew about it and have tried to keep it from us, or there isn't anyone left alive who knew of its existence save you and I. Either way, it must contain something important, perhaps dangerous." He sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes. "I want to spare Sora and Riku that burden. We're on our own."

"Great. Just peachy," Axel muttered. He slammed yet another book shut. "Well, it's not Latin. We're running out of options here." He turned to his side and propped his chin on his fist, looking down at the top of Sephiroth's head. "Seph, what if it isn't a language?"

"What do you mean? Of course it's a language. It's written down right there." Sephiroth jabbed a finger at the tome's brittle pages.

"I mean, what if it's a code?" The redhead grabbed the thick book and paged through it, finally stopping at one of the colorful illustrations. "Look, right here," he said, pointing to its caption in triumph.

Sephiroth looked at the page that Axel thrust before his face. A picture of an outstretched wing lay across the page, with four strange symbols underneath it.

"Four symbols," Axel said slowly. "W-I-N-G."

"We can crack it," Sephiroth said, scrambling for a pen and paper from the floor. "We just need to find simple pictures that go along with the words."

"I'll start looking, you start writing down what I tell you," Axel said, his voice quickening with excitement. "Ready? Blue circle with four dots is a W. Red square with a cross is an I."

Sephiroth wrote, and before long the Chronicles unraveled before them. A few of the more difficult letters required some skill at fill-in-the-blank puzzles, but soon they had a working cipher.

"Fantastic work, Axel," Sephiroth said with a small smile. "You must have a brain somewhere in there."

Axel tapped the side of his head with his fist. "It kicks in every so often." He cleared the bed of the now-useless reference books and beckoned Sephiroth to sit with him. "Let's start translating this thing."

They began slowly, with Axel calling out the appropriate letter and Sephiroth recording the sentences bit by bit. With patience, whole stanzas appeared on their paper, and Sephiroth read the first of these aloud:

"To those of grace and with pure heart, look here no further for your part, but to protect you from a dark demise, it is certain: Angels must rise."

Axel blinked. "Okay." He tipped his head towards his partner. "Any idea what that means?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "I haven't the faintest."

"Looks like we have a riddle inside a puzzle," Axel sighed. "Well, let's keep at it then."

They continued decoding the ancient book, sometimes arguing over what symbol was actually there on the faded paper. After nearly an hour, only a slim portion of the pages were completed, and they were no closer to understanding the book's intent.

"Blah blah blah, blood and Darkness, hearts and Light, more stuff about kings and keys and castles…" Axel read in exasperation. "I can't understand a word of this frou-frou poetry." He picked up a page written in Sephiroth's neat hand. "Like listen to this: 'One being not, the other is right, naught of import is speed or might, for the protectors to rise in the clean blue air, those with new eyes must travel in pairs.' What the hell are they talking about?"

"Pairs?" Sephiroth's brow furrowed in concentration. "The Keyblade Bearers, perhaps?"

"Yeah, but with new eyes? Do they mean babies? That doesn't make any sense." Axel's wing shifted against his side, and a small shower of feathery down floated to Sephiroth's bed sheets.

Sephiroth watched the white wisps closely before glancing up at the wing that curved behind Axel's shoulder. The fire-maker's bright green eyes shifted up to meet Sephiroth's stare. "What?" he asked peevishly.

"It's us." Sephiroth was too eager to register Axel's disbelief. "Come on, we need to go upstairs," he said, standing swiftly amid the flurry of papers and pulling Axel along by his wrist.

At the top of the tall parapet, they could see the entire castle below them with workers rushing across the courtyard, stringing tiny lights in preparation for the ball. Beyond the castle walls, the countryside lay quiet and misty, even at the noon hour. Sephiroth faced that direction, leaning out a narrow window to gaze at the ground far below. Axel watched with an unimpressed expression.

"So we're the pair? With new eyes?" he asked.

"We are. Observe." Sephiroth turned and shut his eyes tight, and when he opened them, they glimmered all-green and alien. "Your eyes now look the same," he informed Axel.

The redhead took a peek in a half-filled bucket of water that some servant had left at the top of the stairs. His bright all-green eyes reflected back at him.

"Neat trick." Axel shrugged. "So what?"

Sephiroth reached out and touched Axel's shoulder lightly, and the light in their eyes abated, returning to normal. "I think it means we're connected," he said.

Axel nodded and spun his hand in a circle in the air, a motion for Sephiroth to explain further. The silver-haired man sat upon the narrow window ledge.

"We're going to fly," he said with a smug grin.

Axel waited a moment before laughing. "Here's a quick physics lesson," he chuckled. "One wing cannot a full-grown man support." He flapped his appendage in demonstration, lifting only a foot from the ground before dropping back down. "We can glide, maybe jump a little higher. Hell, maybe with a few Aero spells we can stay aloft for a minute. But fly?"

"One on the right," Sephiroth pointed to Axel's wing, "and one on the left." He pointed to his own over his left shoulder. "Together, we make a set. We can fly, but we have to do it together."

Shaking his head, Axel muttered, "You're crazy. This is crazy."

"Please trust me," Sephiroth said softly, extending his hand out to Axel.

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'll trust you, but I'm not going to jump out of a— Whoa!" Without warning, Sephiroth had grabbed the other man's arm and fell backward out the window, bringing Axel with him.

They fell, the ground rush up to them, and Axel couldn't seem to stop shouting "SHIT!" above the whistling wind.

Sephiroth kept a firm grasp of the other man, wrapping his arms around him. "Flap your wing!" he ordered. "On my count. One! Two!"

Axel had his eyes squeezed shut, but did as he was told. After a few tries, they began to match in rhythm and their descent slowed before stopping altogether. Still clinging to Sephiroth's arms, Axel chanced a peek at the grassy field only a few yards below them.

"That was close," he sighed. "Did I mention I hate heights?"

Sephiroth smirked, though it was hidden against Axel's neck. "Then you'll be pleased to know we should try climbing higher. Come on."

"I. Hate. You. So much," Axel said, gritting the words out of his teeth with each synchronized flap of their wings.

"Calm down," Sephiroth huffed. "See? It's working." They rose slowly, gaining speed until they were far above the castle's turrets.

Axel couldn't help but look down at the world far below in wide-eyed amazement. "We're so far up," he breathed. "How do we, um, land?"

Sephiroth couldn't help a small chuckle that bubbled in his throat. Axel only tightened his grip at the unexpected sound.

"Don't fucking laugh at me! This is serious," he yelled.

"We heal with incredible speed," Sephiroth reminded him. "You don't have to worry."

"Okay, fine, super healing is great." Axel pushed away from his partner's chest to glare at him directly. "But how about death? Can we die? That's probably something we should have looked up in your Big Book O' Angels before we attempted this."

"We'll be fine," Sephiroth assured. "As long as we stick together. Travel in pairs."

"Right," Axel snorted. He started as Sephiroth slowly began to release his grip on Axel's arms. "What are you…?"

"Watch," Sephiroth said, and let go of Axel's right hand so they were side by side, still holding fast to his left hand. Their wings beat in time, and they flew through the air like a giant bird.

Axel's shout of surprise morphed into one of hysterical joy. Sephiroth looked over at the other Angel and saw that the fast wind had brought tears to his eyes. "I can't believe this is working," the redhead shouted above the rush of air. "Woo hoo!"

It seemed as if Axel had overcome his initial anxiety about flying, and soon he was turning in wide barrel rolls, skimming the low-hanging clouds, and swooping down over the castle, all with Sephiroth in tow. There was no need to verbalize a change in speed or direction; their wings knew, as if their pounding pulses set the pace for them.

"I think I got the hang of this," Axel said with delight. "Want to try for a landing?"

Sephiroth dipped his chin towards the roof of their tower. "Let's."

They were slow and careful, and not as graceful as Sephiroth would have liked, but he knew it was only their first try. They would get better, and soon flying would be as natural as walking. Sephiroth's bare toes touched the rough shingles of the roof first, and Axel stumbled to the ground after him. The redhead lost his footing on the slanted surface, and since his hand was still clasped in Sephiroth's, they went down together.

"Fuck!" Axel cursed, digging his heels into the roof to stop their slide. They froze a few feet from the edge, with Sephiroth pinned under Axel's weight.

"That was wild," the fire-starter crowed with a grin that stretched his face and the small black tattoos there. "You okay?"

Sephiroth wiped stray feathers and strands of silver hair out of his eyes. "Very well, thank you," he said dryly.

Axel gave a shout of laughter and gazed down into Sephiroth's face. His smile stayed for a moment before fading into a more introspective look. Sephiroth squinted in the bright sun, but Axel's face was covered in shadow. The quiet lasted longer than normal, and Sephiroth shifted uneasily under his friend.

"I suppose we should—"

He wasn't allowed to finish the thought. Axel bent forward a mere inch, his eyes fluttering shut, and pressed his lips to Sephiroth's. The silver-haired man's protests were muffled by Axel's mouth as the redhead refused to retreat. He brought his hands up against Axel's shoulders and pushed, but, remembering their precarious position on the rooftop, did so only feebly.

"Stop this," Sephiroth gasped, tearing his mouth away from the kiss. Axel ignored him, nuzzling the skin on the side of his neck and biting down on his earlobe. The action sent a jolt of pleasure dancing up Sephiroth's spine, but he closed his eyes against it. "Axel, stop," he repeated.

"Don't care," Axel growled in his ear. "Don't care who you're in love with. I want to kiss you."

"Axel—" Sephiroth was silenced once more by a harsh bite to his throat, and his breath escaped in a hiss. He pushed again, harder this time, and managed to flip their positions, slamming Axel a little harder than necessary against the shingles.

He slapped the redhead hard across the face, the sound ringing out like a gunshot in the quiet air, and Axel's head jerked to the side with the force of the blow. "Control yourself!" Sephiroth roared.

Axel slowly faced forward again, the bright red mark plainly visible on his right cheek. His eyes glowed brightly, completely consumed by the alien green, and Sephiroth realized that the glowing must be a reaction to extreme concentration.

"I spent all of my life under control. Always someone else's control," Axel said in a low voice. "I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of _you._"

He lunged forward with a snarl, and Sephiroth couldn't help but be overbalanced by the tackle. They flipped over and then flipped again until they were rolling out of control down the roof and, finally, over the edge.

It was only by chance that Sephiroth had the wherewithal to grapple for Axel's hand in midair and extend his wing enough to slow their fall. They ended up slamming into the hard packed earth of the courtyard in a disorganized jumble of limbs.

"Holy crap," Axel moaned, watching his snapped wrist knit itself back together.

Sephiroth shoved the other man off his chest and held a scraped hand to his quick-healing ribs. "I cannot _believe_ you would act so irresponsibly," he hissed.

Axel wiped a trail of blood away from his mouth and growled. "Hey, I'm not the one that—"

"Seph?" a quiet, low voice called.

Both Sephiroth and Axel squinted up at the newcomer clad in black, standing in the grass. A blond head tilted slowly to the side, taking in the entire scene.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth opened his mouth, but no words seemed ready to step forward. His eyes were trained on the blond and the figures of Leon, Aerith, and Cid in the corner of the courtyard, conversing with Sora. Yuffie appeared from behind Cloud's shoulder and clapped her hands in delight.

"The gang's all here for the big party!" she exclaimed. "Official representatives of Radiant Garden, woo hoo!" She paused, frowning at Axel. "Who's the redhead?"

Sephiroth closed his eyes and sighed, wishing for a fleeting moment that the fall had actually killed him.


End file.
